According to a report in the Daily Beast, In a meeting with congressional leaders in the White House, President Obama told the leaders that criticism of his Syrian policy was horseshit!
Bob Corker asked the president a long question that included sharp criticisms of President Obama’s handling of a number of foreign policy issues—including Syria, ISIS, Russia, and Ukraine. Obama answered Corker at length. Then, the president defended his administration’s actions on Syria, saying that the notion that many have put forth regarding arming the rebels earlier would have led to better outcomes in Syria was “horseshit.”
Warning: below the fold is a rant.
President Obama is exactly right, and I understand his anger at people. We expect this kind of horseshit from delusional, evil Republicans, but people like Hillary and some other Dems are criticizing for their own political gains.
How many freaken foreign quagmires to we have to fill with American blood before we learn the lesson that we can't fix every problem in the world. We are not the omnipotent Americans. There are things we can do to help people, including military aid, and then there are places we're not going to be able to fix.
As long as there are religious fanatics in the middle east who believe their God gave them this land, or that it wants them to go out and convert everyone else to believe in their fantasy, or who are willing to die for their delusion, or who believe they should have power over everyone else no matter how they gain that power... there will be nothing but bloodshed and chaos in that region and there's nothing militarily we can do to stop it.
I believe President Obama's approach to the middle east has been spot on. George Bush opened the gates of hell over there, and President Obama knows there's a gazillion fanatics trying to come out of those gates. We are limited in what we can do and there's no such thing as an end game.
A month ago, the Shiites in Baghdad were willing to shoot the Kurds up north, now they're helping each other fight against ISIS. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend". Allegiances switch from day to day in that part of the world. Malaki went through a purge of the coalition that we helped build, the then purged Iraqi military ran in the face of battle and strengthened ISIS with the weapons they left behind.
Those critics who say we should have armed some radical group in Syria haven't been paying attention. Who knows what group that newly armed militia would be allied with today, and what other groups they would be trying to suppress today. ISIS might very well be even more well armed had we chosen the wrong Syrian rebels to support (like John McCain wanted).
Obama has it right. Pursue every diplomatic channel possible to keep those crazies from destabilizing the entire region and fight limited battles to prevent the worst groups from gaining control. We are doomed to this terrible situation until the population over there decides it will purge itself of the religious fanaticism that has brought them centuries of pain, and they will start working together for the betterment of their people. And the Monday morning quarterback criticism of Obama's policy in Syria is pure HORSESHIT!
And this statement was issued by MoveOn.org via Talking Points Memo
Secretary Clinton, and any other person thinking about seeking the Democratic nomination in 2016, should think long and hard before embracing the same policies advocated by right-wing war hawks that got America into Iraq in the first place and helped set the stage for Iraq’s troubles today. These hawkish policy stances are also threatening to undermine the peaceful international resolution of Iran’s nuclear program.
Voters elected President Obama in 2008 to bring the war in Iraq to an end. MoveOn members will continue to stand with elected officials who oppose military escalation that could put us back on a path to endless war.